Apparatus and method for orienting pears and the like

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and method for orienting pears and similar articles in which an inclined trough support is provided by oppositely disposed upwardly diverging side walls which are closed at their lower or feed ends by a continuous upwardly concave surface forming a smooth continuation of each of the respective side walls of the trough. The side walls of the trough are spaced apart at the bottom to receive the upper stretch of a belt disposed between these side walls and which travels uphill to apply an upwardly progressing and rotating effect to a pear which is translated with respect to the support. When the pear has its bulb end uppermost, the only effect on the pear is the progressing effect as the angle represents an angle of repose in this position of the pear. If the stem end of the pear is uppermost, the rotating effect also applies and while the pear is being translated with respect to the side walls, it is also being rotated stem end over butt end to place the butt end uppermost. The result is that all of the pears are discharged or removed from the upper end of the trough with their butt ends foremost.

United States Patent [191 Anderson [451 Oct. 30,1973

[ APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ORIENTING PEARS AND THE LIKE Inventor: Earl R. Anderson, Los Gatos,

Calif.

[711.-. si esejiy EEK-195 9e 9LCa iL [22] Filed: June 5, 1972 Appl. No.: 259,478

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 20,989, March 19, 1970, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 746,457, July 22, 1968, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 602,759, Dec. 20, I966, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 198/33 AA, 198/57 [51] Int. Cl. 865g 47/24 [58] Field of Search l98/33 AA, 204, 160, 198/57 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,471,479 5/1949 Coons 198/33 AA 2,895,593 7/1959 McKnight 198/160 3,258,045 6/1966 Mattos 198/33 AA Prima ry Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Attorney-Allen & Chromy ABSTRACT Apparatus and method for orienting pears and similar articles in which an inclined trough support is provided by oppositely disposed upwardly diverging side walls which are closed at their lower or feed ends by a continuous upwardly concave surface forming a smooth continuation of each of the respective side walls of the trough. The side walls of the trough are spaced apart at the bottom to receive the upper stretch of a belt disposed between these side walls and.

which travels uphill to apply an upwardlyprogressing and rotating effect to a pear which is translated with respect to the support. When the pear has its bulb end uppermost, the only effect on the pear is the progressing effect as the angle represents an angle of repose in this position of the pear. If the stem end of the pear is uppermost, the rotating effect also applies and while the pear is being translated with respect to the side walls, it is also being rotated stem end over butt end to place the butt end uppermost. The result is that all of the pears are discharged or removed from the upper end of the trough with their butt ends foremost.

10 Claims, l3 Drnwing Figures PMENIEUnmaoma 3.768.627

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EARL R. ANDERSON 4% M am? ATTORNEYS APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ORIENTING PEARS AND THE LIKE This is a continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 20,989 filed Mar. 19, 1970, now abandoned which is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 746,457 filed July 22, 1968, for Apparatus and Method for Orienting Pears and the Like, which is a continuation of my copending application Ser. No. 602,759 filed Dec. 20, 1966, now abandoned entitled Apparatus and Method for Orienting Pears and the Like.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the orienting of pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end and a smaller stem portion or end, and is concerned more particularly with apparatus and methods for orienting such pears and the like wherein the position of the stem end with respect to the bulb end along a path is utilized to control the positioning of the pear.

It is a general object of the invention to provide improved orienting apparatus and methods for pears and like articles.

Another general object of the invention is to provide such apparatus and methods in connection with articles or pears in which the stem ends of the pears are joined to the bulb end of the pears by a straight or concave portion, these pears being of the common type of Bartlett pear grown in California.

Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus and methods of the character recited above in which a rotating effect is applied to pears to effect an orienting action.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and methods of the above character in which the rotating effect is applied in a direction extending uphill in a similarly inclined trough-like support so that the resulting rotation of the article tends to move it downhill.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trough-like support in an apparatus for orienting pears 'in means are provided for feeding an oriented or aligned pear laterally from the orienting trough for discharge.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an orienting apparatus including a trough-like support having opposite spaced apart inclined side walls between which an article rotating means is provided to be periodically engaged with an article supported by the trough.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a trough of the above character and an elongated member adapted to be introduced into the bottom of the trough and wherein relative movement is provided between the trough and the member to apply a rotating effect to the article in the trough.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof and a preferred method of carrying out the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for carrying out the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational end view taken in a plane indicated by the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus taken in a plane indicated by the line 3-3 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the conveyor belt which operates on pears and its control linkage;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the operation of rolling a pear stem end over bulb end;

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken in a plane indicated by the line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken in a plane indicated by the line 77 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken in a plane indicated by the line 88 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 and illustrating a pear in non-aligned position in the trough;

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 illustrate a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the modified form;

FIG. 11 is an elevational end view partially in section of the apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of the apparatus; and

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane indicated by the line l3-l3 in FIG. 10.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, the apparatus of the instant invention includes a frame or body 10 having a feed end 11 and a discharge end 12 and preferably being disposed in inclined position from the feed end toward the discharge end thereof. The upper face of the frame 10 comprises opposite trough-like sides 13a and 13b which are joined at the feed end of the frame by internally frusto-conical or concave feed surface 14 which, at its two sides, merges smoothly with the trough side walls 13a and 13b. At its discharge end of the frame, the two trough-like sides 13a and 13b are merged with downwardly extending discharge inclined walls 160 and 16b with respect to which a discharge retarding plate or funnel-like discharge member 17 is provided. The member 17 is pivotally mounted at 18 in extension brackets 19 from the frame 10. The pivotal axis 18 for the discharge member 17 is offset so that the weight of the discharge member yieldably maintains the discharge member in closed position.

The inclination of the trough formed by the trough side walls 13a and 13b (FIGS. 14) is preferably about 10 to 12 to the horizontal, and the included angle between the trough walls 13a and 13b is preferably between and 112 to provide for settling of random field grown pears, including those of the largest size, into the trough and into position with respect to the opening or slot 21 between the trough side walls and 13b at the bottom. Disposed in cooperative relation with the trough formed by the walls 13a and 13b is a conveyor 22 which is in the form of a belt trained about respective idler and drive sprockets 23 and 24 which are mounted on respective shafts 26 and 27, suitably journaled by bearings 28 in the frame 10.

The belt 22 (FIGS. 1-4) is driven in a direction uphill of the trough formed by the walls 13a and 13b, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3, and means is provided for intermittently bringing the upper stretch of this belt into operative relation with fruit carried in or supported by the trough walls 130 and 13b. For this purpose, there is provided respective pairs of control plates 31a and 31b (FIG. 3), each pair being connected by a mounting sleeve 30, pivoted respectively on the shafts 26 and 27. The plates 31a and 3112 have journaled therein mounting shafts 35 for belt controlling rollers or pulleys 32 and 33 adjacent the upper and lower stretches of the belt, respectively. The control members or plates 31a and 31b are connected for simultaneous opposite pivoting movement on their respective pivot axes 26 and 27 by a link 36 extending between the two of the control plates 31a and 31b, being pivotally connected (FIG. 3) to a lower portion of a plate 31a and an upper portion of a plate 31b. The sleeve 30 of the control plates 31b has secured thereto a depending arm 37 pivotally connected at its lower end at 38 to a link 39 extending toward the discharge end of the machine and mounted in an eccentric block 41 on the shaft 26 which carries a drive element or pulley 42 at its opposite end to provide a drive for the apparatus.

The result of the interconnection of the two pivot control plates 31a and 31b (FIGS. 1 and 3) and the reciprocation or oscillation of the sleeve 30 through the link 39 and other connections is to provide a timed vertical oscillation or reciprocation of the upper and lower stretches of the belt 22 only in timed relation to the travel of the belt, along the trough formed in the body or frame 10. Thus, periodically the belt is positioned in the trough to engage with any article carried by the trough walls 13a and 13b and by virtue of the relative movement between the trough and the belt apply a rotative effect to each article.

Referring now to FIGS. through 8, a description of the orienting process or method will be made. Assuming, first, that pears are randomly fed one by one to the apparatus by means including a conventional shuffle feed mechanism, including shuffle members 47 and 48, a randomly fed pear will be controlled by the concave wall 19 to slide and/or roll down into engagement with the two walls 13a and 13b of the trough. The smooth concave surface of the end wall 19 allows a swinging or rotative movement of the stem end of a pear as it is being fed without the possibility of the stem catching and interfering with the feeding movement. During this sliding and/or rolling movement the pears will tend to shift or rotate so that the majority of them will come into the bottom of the trough positioned with the stemblossom axis of the pear in substantial alignment with the length of the trough. Those that come down not so oriented will be unstable because their stem ends will be positioned up along one of the trough walls so that, as an unaligned pear 51D (FIG. 9) is engaged and driven by the belt 22, the first action that occurs is a shifting and/or rolling into alignment with the walls of the trough. It will be understood that the pears which come to at least momentary rest in the trough in position where the stem-blossom axis is not parallel to the trough may occupy an infinite variety of positions. The position illustrated in FIG. 9 is a pear 51D which is extending approximately crosswise of the trough so that the feeding movement of the belt will tend to move the bulb end along the trough allowing the stem end to trail and come into its desired aligned position. The shifting and alignment of a pear may be due to either the relative up and down movement of the belt with respect to the trough, to the relative longitudinal movement between the belt and the trough, or to a combination of both. Another slight effect which acts on the article is a sideways shifting illustrated in the sequence of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. In FIG. 6 the belt 22 is wholly disengaged from the fruit. In FIG. 7 it has just begun to engage the fruit, while in FIG. 8 the lifting movement results in the fruit article being supported by the belt and one of the trough walls.

Eventually, therefore, each pear is positioned in aligned position and usually in spaced apart relation to adjacent pears in the bottom of the trough and becomes aligned either with its stem end positioned uphill of the bulb end of the pear, or positioned downhill of the bulb end of the pear. Those pears which are positioned with the stem end downhill of the bulb end thereof are in a stable angle of repose to maintain their position each time they are engaged by the belt 22 and progress toward the discharge end of the apparatus.

A pear 51A which is positioned oppositely, for example, as seen at the left of FIG. 5 in dotted lines and in FIG. 6, has its stem end on the uphill side of its bulb end. At this time it is assumed that the belt 22 is in its downward position or moving downwardly, and therefore, is out of contact with the pear. When the belt is returning on its upward stroke, as indicated at the position 518 in dotted lines in FIG. 5, the belt 22 engages the bulb end of the pear and starts to rotate the pear, stem end over bulb end, with the stem end traveling in a downhill direction with respect to the trough or support.

This movement continues until it is arrested by engagement with one or both of the side walls of the trough, or the belt when it is stopped and reaches a stable position repose, as shown at 51C in FIGS. 5 and 8, where it is oriented similarly to one that is oriented as fed with its stem end on the downhill side of its bulb end. As a result, all the pears will be fed, usually in spaced apart relation, bulb end first over the discharge end of the apparatus down the side walls 16a and 16b and past the discharge member 17 which, by virtue of its pivoting action, will open with respect to the walls 16a and 16b to pass the pear and allow it to fall bulb end first into a suitable cup such as shown at 48 in FIG. 5, this cup or pocket forming one of a series which are consecutively positioned to receive pears.

FIGS. 10 through 13 illustrate a modified form of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 12, the apparatus of this modification includes a frame or body 10a having a feed end 1 la and a discharge end 12a and like the modification of FIGS. 1 through 4 is disposed in upwardly inclined position from the feed end toward the discharge end thereof. The upper face of the frame 10a comprises opposite trough-like sides 13c and 13d which are joined at the feed end of the frame by internally frusto-conical or concave end surface 14a.

The belt 22a (FIG. 10) is driven similarly to the belt 22 and its upper stretch travels in an uphill direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 10. This belt is subject to periodic vertical reciprocation to be brought into and out of engagement with a fruit supported in the trough between sidewalls 13c and 13d to have an orienting effect on the fruit as previously described. It will be recalled that this effect will place a pear with its bulb end uppermost to the discharge end of the machine where means is provided in the respective trough walls and 13d to effect a lateral discharge of the pear.

As seen in FIGS. 10 and 13, particularly, the trough wall 13d is provided adjacent the discharge end of the belt 22a with an inclined wall portion or wedge 61 immediately opposite a cut-away discharge gate 60 of the apparatus including a downwardly inclined ramp 62 between two wall portions 63. The inclined ramp 61 retards the advance of the pear beyond the exit opening 60 provided at the ramp 62 and causes a lateral shifting or rolling of the pear downwardly into engagement with a stop in the form of a gate 64 which is pivotally supported at 66 on the body a. The gate 64 is held yieldably by gravity in its closed position. This gate is designed to be opened in timed relation with respect to a pear-receiving pocket 67 carried by a conveyor 68 and adapted to receive a pear with its stem blossom axis generally aligned with the V-shape of the pocket 67 with its bulb end oriented in a desired direction.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of the invention, and certain preferred methods of carrying out the invention, it is apparent that the invention is capable of variation and modification from the form shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the proper scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end, which includes an open-bottom trough-like support, conveying means disposed below said troughlike support for operating on a pear or the like article in said trough-like support through said open-bottom, including means for applying a rotating effect and a progressing effect to a pear in a direction parallel to the length of said trough-like support, said support having side walls disposed in V-shaped relation, the angle between said walls being over 90 degree and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis lengthwise of said support by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into alignment with the bottom of the trough, and said walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment, and means for effecting relative raising and lowering movement between said conveyor and said support to bring said rotating and progressing effect applying means into effective position through the open bottom with respect to a pear in said trough-like support to place all of the bulb ends of the pears in leading position during progression thereof, by rotating a pear with its stem end in leading position to place the stem end in trailing position.

2. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end, which includes a trough-like support having spaced apart inclined side walls, conveying means disposed between the lower edges of said side walls for operating on a pear or like article in said trough-like support including means for rotating and progressing a pear in a direction parallel to the length of said troughlike support, said side walls being disposed in V-shaped relation, the angle between said walls being over 90 degrees and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis lengthwise of said support by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into alignment with the bottom of the trough, and said walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment, and means for periodically effecting relative raising and lowering movement between said conveyor and said support to bring said rotating and progressing means into effective position between said side walls to engage and orient a pear in said trough-like support by rotating a pear with its stem end in leading position to place the stem end in trailing position.

3. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end which comprises an inclined V-shaped trough-like support having spaced apart side walls, and a drive member extending parallel to said side walls, adapted for positioning between said side walls to engage the bottom surface of a pear in said support, the angle between said side walls being over 90 and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis with the length of the trough means by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into an aligned position at the bottom of the trough-like support and said side walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment and including means for periodically rendering said drive member effective with respect to said trough and a pear therein and means for moving said drive member in an uphill direction.

4. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end which comprises a trough-like support inclined upwardly from a feed end to a discharge end, said support having spaced apart side walls inclined upwardly and outwardly with respect to each other, an elongated element positioned lengthwise in said trough and disposed adjacent the bottom of said trough for contacting fruit carried by said trough, said side walls being disposed in V-shaped relation, the angle between said side walls being over 90 and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis with the length of the trough means by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into an aligned position at the bottom of the trough-like support, and said side walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment and including means for effecting relative movement between said support and said element with the effective movement of said support uphill in direction to effect an orienting action on a pear supported by said support.

5. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stern portion or end, as recited in claim 4 in which said means means for intermittently raising and lowering the conveyor with respect to the support.

7. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end as recited in claim 4, in. which said spaced apart sidewalls are joined by a concave surface which is cone-shaped and in which said concave surface and said elongated element act together to align the longitudinal axis of the article with the length of the trough.

8. In an apparatus as recited in claim 3, in which one of said spaced apart side walls of said inclined troughlike support has an uphill wedge-shaped portion to retard an article being conveyed by the drive member and to apply a braking effect to said article, and a discharge opening in the other of said side wall at a point opposite to said wedge-shaped portion to provide a discharge ramp .for the article.

9. In an apparatus for orienting pears and the like articles as recited in claim 3, in which said walls include means for effecting lateral discharge of a pear from said trough-like support.

10. In an apparatus as recited in claim 9, in which said lateral discharge effecting means includes a downwardly inclined ramp, and a normally closed gate for arresting an article on said ramp. 

1. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end, which includes an open-bottom trough-like support, conveying means disposed below said trough-like support for operating on a pear or the like article in said trough-like support through said open-bottom, including means for applying a rotating effect and a progressing effect to a pear in a direction parallel to the length of said trough-like support, said support having side walls disposed in V-shaped relation, the angle between said walls being over 90 degree and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis lengthwise of said support by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into alignment with the bottom of the trough, and said walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment, and means for effecting relative raising and lowering movement between said conveyor and said support to bring said rotating and progressing effect applying means into effective position through the open bottom with respect to a pear in said trough-like support to place all of the bulb ends of the pears in leading position during progression thereof, by rotating a pear with its stem end in leading position to place the stem end in trailing position.
 2. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end, which includes a trough-like support having spaced apart inclined side walls, conveying means disposed between the lower edges of said side walls for operating on a pear or like article in said trough-like support including means for rotating and progressing a pear in a direction parallel to the length of said trough-like support, said side walls being disposed in V-shaped relation, the angle between said walls being over 90 degrees and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis lengthwise of said support by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into alignment with the bottom of the trough, and said walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment, and means for periodically effecting relative raising and lowering movement between said conveyor and said support to bring said rotating and progressing means into effective position between said side walls to engage and orient a pear in said trough-like support by rotating a pear with its stem end in leading position to place the stem end in trailing position.
 3. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end which comprises an inclined V-shaped trough-like support having spaced apart side walls, and a drive member extending parallel to said side walls, adapted for positioning between said side walls to engage the bottom surface of a pear in said support, the angle between said side walls being over 90* and being large enough and flat enoUgh to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis with the length of the trough means by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into an aligned position at the bottom of the trough-like support and said side walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment and including means for periodically rendering said drive member effective with respect to said trough and a pear therein and means for moving said drive member in an uphill direction.
 4. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end which comprises a trough-like support inclined upwardly from a feed end to a discharge end, said support having spaced apart side walls inclined upwardly and outwardly with respect to each other, an elongated element positioned lengthwise in said trough and disposed adjacent the bottom of said trough for contacting fruit carried by said trough, said side walls being disposed in V-shaped relation, the angle between said side walls being over 90* and being large enough and flat enough to allow for rotating of the largest sized pear to align its axis with the length of the trough means by swinging the stem end of the pear along one of said walls and down into an aligned position at the bottom of the trough-like support, and said side walls being spaced closely enough together at their bottom edges to support the stem end of the smallest pear so as to maintain all the pears in a generally longitudinally aligned relation with the length of the trough after such alignment and including means for effecting relative movement between said support and said element with the effective movement of said support uphill in direction to effect an orienting action on a pear supported by said support.
 5. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end, as recited in claim 4 in which said means for effecting relative movement between said support and said element includes means for effecting both relative longitudinal movement between said support and said element and relative vertical movement between said support and said element.
 6. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end, as recited in claim 4, in which the elongated member is a conveyor, and which also includes means for intermittently raising and lowering the conveyor with respect to the support.
 7. An apparatus for orienting pears and like articles having a bulb portion or end, and a smaller stem portion or end as recited in claim 4, in which said spaced apart sidewalls are joined by a concave surface which is cone-shaped and in which said concave surface and said elongated element act together to align the longitudinal axis of the article with the length of the trough.
 8. In an apparatus as recited in claim 3, in which one of said spaced apart side walls of said inclined trough-like support has an uphill wedge-shaped portion to retard an article being conveyed by the drive member and to apply a braking effect to said article, and a discharge opening in the other of said side wall at a point opposite to said wedge-shaped portion to provide a discharge ramp for the article.
 9. In an apparatus for orienting pears and the like articles as recited in claim 3, in which said walls include means for effecting lateral discharge of a pear from said trough-like support.
 10. In an apparatus as recited in claim 9, in which said lateral discharge effecting means includes a downwardly inclined ramp, and a normally closed gate for arresting an article on said ramp. 